By Owen Paine on Thursday January 31, 2008 05:50 PM
The grand Guignol of the Dembots' identity clusterfuck notwithstanding,
we have another kind of base to look after:
the economy.
Just read a column by my hero Larry the Lizard Summers
(shown above; I don't blame old Abe for averting his eyes).
Might be instructive material for anybody
fleeing their deadly daily dose of the ballot-box game:
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ae9ef538-ccf2-11dc-8df7-000077b07658.html
"It is critical that sufficient capital is infused into the bond insurance industry as soon as possible. Their failure or loss of a AAA rating is a potential source of systemic risk."Yup, if the bonds fail it's one thing, but then if the guys guaranteeing the bonds' value also fail...
"Probably it will be necessary to turn in part to those companies that have a stake in guarantees remaining credible because they have large holdings of guaranteed paper."I see an instance of Hegelian circular causation here: the poor hungry serpents are to be forced to eat their very own tails. Get this understatement:
"It appears unlikely that repair will take place without some encouragement and involvement by financial authorities."Financial authorities -- i.e. Uncle's hi-fi community peelers.
Along the trail, lord Larry mentions my ex-boss, that moonpie-faced, baggy-pants "ahh shucks" happy billionaire and longtime ladies' man (tried to snake my girlfriend into his jet once with hints of lobster newburg) -- of course I mean Warren Gamaliel Buffett. Here's Larry:
"While attention to date has focused on capital infusions into existing institutions, it would be desirable for capital to be injected into new institutions that do not have the legacy problems of existing ones and can meet the demand for new lending.... Warren Buffett’s recent entry into bond insurance is an example."The ultimate smiley-faced vulture circles in:
